flu

I have tried my fair share of medication to find the right one(s) – including Humira, Remicade, and Entyvio. Humira provided some relief, until my 4-month bout of c. diff – afterwards increasing to weekly injections without a difference. During my last “loading” dose of Remicade, I began having drug-induced Lupus symptoms. Though I’m not at 100%, Entyvio and methotrexate have reduced the inflammation and the amount of ulcers in my colon.

Until this year, my Entyvio infusions were in an out-patient hospital setting in one of the main branches of my hospital system. Due to changes in coverage with Blue Cross Blue Shield, this was no longer covered, but they do cover home infusion care. Especially with the current flu epidemic, I was more than happy to avoid the hospital and relax in my home.

Because I was notified of this coverage change in advance, and I knew how long changes in care can take to process, I reached out to the home infusion provider in November 2017. Unfortunately, I was still following up to get the order processed and authorized by insurance the week before my infusion. Thankfully, once everything was processed and I was called by scheduling, there was a nurse available on Saturday and I had my pick of times. With how close we were to my infusion date, that was my biggest concerns, so I was relieved when my appointment was finally on the books.

There were a few things that were different (and initially concerning) that I learned from the scheduling call. The biggest one was that this company doesn’t use an IV pump to administer Entyvio since it’s infused through such a short time period. Since I have always infused with a pump, I was nervous how they were going to time it for it to run at the correct rate. Day of, I learned that instead of a roller clamp, the tubing had a twistable clamp with a variety of mL per hour measurements noted around the circle.

Three days before my infusion, the company sent over my Entvyio, pre-meds, an anaphylaxis kit, and any other supplies needed for my infusion – including an IV pole. Because I wanted a pole of my own with wheels, I ordered one (and a small folding table for the nurse to use for prep) on Amazon Prime.

The nurse I ended up having for my infusion was extremely nice and very helpful. Because I had gotten mixed messages from the company on whether or not my husband could be trained to flush my port, she walked my husband through the process step-by-step and wrote out detailed notes, just in case. The infusion ran really smoothly, and it was interesting to see how the process differs from facility to facility. I was nervous before the infusion, as I’m normally used to nurses who are balancing multiple patients, but I would be happy to have her as my reoccurring nurse.

It was a very smooth experience, and I am excited that I can continue my care at home. Anyone who is considering home infusions, I would definitely recommend it if your insurance covers it.